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Our take: Are you ready to run for school board?

Anyone who runs for school board should have his or her head examined.

Think about it.

You're in charge of a multi-million-dollar operation with the responsibility of educating future generations.

You spend long hours at meetings - as well as doing homework on board issues.

You're not paid a dime for your effort. Heck, even council members of tiny boroughs are typically paid a stipend for their time - at least enough to cover expenses such as gas to get to meetings.

You get the "privilege" of setting the millage rate for the largest chunk of property taxes that most people pay. Oh joy! That makes you really popular among your neighbors.

And, of course, you get blamed for those rising property taxes - even though it's not entirely your fault. State lawmakers have underfunded schools and failed miserably to reform the broken property tax system. (That said, we'd also argue that too many local school boards for too long rubber-stamped teacher salary increases that were simply unwarranted and unsustainable - helping to push up administrator salaries as well.)

Yes, you should definitely know what you're getting into before running for this thankless yet crucial position.

Next year, many school board seats are up for election, so now is the time to start thinking about it - and learning about the responsibilities of the position itself.

ydr.com-www.ydr.com">holding a session last week that helped some local would-be candidates examine their heads, so to speak, before taking the hats off those heads and tossing them into the proverbial ring.

The session covered important topics: Do you know what's involved (maybe six to 20 hours a month working on issues outside the actual meetings), are you doing this for the right reasons and with the right expectations (board members aren't dictators, and change will come only if you are statesman-like enough to persuade other board members to enact your proposals).

About 20 people from various school districts attended the forum on what it takes to serve this important volunteer function. It's a shame there weren't more attendees.

It would be valuable to hold this session a couple of more times in different locations across the county - maybe after the busy holiday season.

This is a big commitment, not a job for a dabbler. If you're thinking of running for school board next year, examine your head and make sure you're really up for it.